An Eritrean Escapee

Please note: The names in this blog have been changed to protect the individual included. Some of what you are about to read is based upon fiction.
 

Home Office Interview Screening 

1. What is your name?

Suliman Sadaf  

2.    Where are you from?
 
Eritrea

3.      Can you name any famous Eritrean people?

Yes, Zerea Senay. He is the fastest Runner and Al Amin he is a famous singer.

4.      Can you tell me some National Holidays in Eritrea?

Yes. 24th May is Independence Day. 8th March is Women’s Day.

5.      What Languages are spoken in Eretria?

Tigre, Tigrinya, Afar, Saho, Arabic, and Bilen.

6.      Can you tell me when this all began?

Yes, from 2010 when I left school.

7.      Do you have any qualifications?

No. I did not complete secondary education.

8.      Why did you stop studying?

I stopped going to school because I feared I would be forced to go into Sawa. (Sawa is a Defence Training Centre, it is the site of a massive military training camp where every Eritrean aged between 18-40 must go as part of their compulsory military service. The service in Indefinite.)

9.       But if you were studying were you not less likely to be taken to Sawa?

No. It is compulsory.

10.   What did you do after school?

I started working with my Uncle at a Goldsmith's.

11.   How long did you do this for?
 
I worked in the Goldsmith Industry for three years.

12.   How old were you when you left school? 

 22.

13. Did you encounter any problems whilst working as a Goldsmith?

No. None at all.

14.   And what happened to you in 2013?

On the 13th of September 2013, when I returned home from work. I was arrested.

15.   Who arrested you?

The soldiers' of SAWA.

16.   Did they say anything to you?

Yes. They asked me to present my Identity documents and I explained that I do not have them on me. They said, if you do not have it, we will have to take you to the police station.

17.   What happened when you arrived at the police station?

When I arrived at the police station, the officers behind the desk took my D.O.B and they asked me to take my shoes off. They lead me to a private cell, where I waited there for 20 minutes. One they arrived back the soldiers transported me to a compound, where I was cast into a cell with a large number of men and women. There was barbed wire surrounding the cell and we had no access to water, or washing facilities. I could recognise a few familiar faces from my city. Nobody spoke to each other in the fear that we will be beaten.  We were silent throughout our duration spent together there.

18.   What happened after that?

On the 5th October, we were secured together with handcuffs, and led to the SAWA Military Centre in the Gash-Barka region.

19.   Can you describe what the camp was like?

 SAWA is a large military training compound, with a school attached. We were forced to sit in area that was constantly supervised by soldiers with heavily armed weapons. They gave us little water, and we slept on the rigid floor of the cell. We ate only two meals a day at 6AM and 4PM. We obeyed orders from the soldiers, to clean, build, collect wood. Women were forced to wash clothing and prepare meals. If we did not do a job sufficiently we were beaten with batons, I can remember one woman. She had not washed the soldiers uniforms adequately. She was raped the following evening - we could hear everything.

20.   How many of you were there?

Around 75 of us.

21.   How many soldiers were guarding you?

13.

22. How did you manage to escape?

On the 6th week, the soldiers told us to collect wood for fire in the surrounding area. I had a good feeling that morning I remember. So I seized the opportunity and managed to escape over the barbed wire.

23.   Where did you go?

I walked for nearly eight days to the Sudanese border. I traveled alone and I slept on the broken path in the wilderness. I had no food or money, kind people of whom sympathised offered me some food parcels to take with me on my never ending journey. I was fearful that the SAWA army may be tracking me so I used a fake name - Abdulla Yousif. If the SAWA army were to find me, I will be executed.

24.   Where are your family?

I do not have a father. He was killed many years ago by the SAWA soldiers. My mother and my sister are back in Eritrea.

25.   Have you had any contact with your family?

If I call them, I will be putting them at risk. I cannot have any contact with them. 

26.   What do you fear would happen if you were returned back to Eritrea?

If I return to Eritrea I will be executed for deserting the SAWA Army and shot for leaving my country illegally.  

 Suliman Sadaf was fortunate enough to have escaped the torture and captivity of the SAWA camp and the Eritrean Government, yet thousands of 17 - 18 year old's are sent to "study" leaving thier beloved parents and siblings behind. Is this not a breach of our basic Human Rights?

 It is shocking to hear that so many Eritreans have undergone some form of tormenting Military Service. The few that I work with have been lucky enough to escape. My thoughts are occupied with the thought of the thousands of children who do not know the world outside the four barricaded walls...







Lien-Hua

The blog you are about to read is true; only the names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals. The majority of this post is based upon my imagination and how I have interpreted distinctive anecdotes.


Lien-Hua 2012


My name is Lien-Hua and this is my story...


I will never forget that moment; it continues to haunt me every time I wake up in the morning. Each time I fall asleep, I look around my room, memorising my belongings, my mirror, my bedside lamp, my purple curtains, my tartan coat – my only coat. These are my trophies now, I gaze at them with love and hope, knowing that they are mine and this is my life now; it brings me the greatest sense of security and peace. These are my possessions, in this undersized room, in this peaceful house, on a strange street, in an unfamiliar city. 

My life in China seems like it was never a life of my own, could I have imagined it? My beautiful baby daughter. Her sweet scent, her silky raven hair dancing in the sunlight, her favorite cotton pajamas embracing her petite frame. Or was that all a chapter of a book that I am yet to finish reading, in this lost world?

 I opened my eyes, my heart racing, my throat dry, my hands and feet clamped together. I do not recall where I was. As I observed my surroundings, I had no awareness of how I had got there.  All I knew was that the bitter cold possessed that room and the sparkle of the moon never dared to enter.

Men off all kind visited my room, took what they want from me and left. I was abused, raped, controlled, punished and threatened for two years of my life. I was not paid for my ‘work’ I was a puppet in their show, forced to accept my fate and told I should be grateful for all THEY had given me.  I bled most nights, I cried myself to sleep every night. I did not care if they heard me weep, it was uncontrollable anyhow. There were no luxuries in my life, not one single moment of happiness. Except for one.

He knocked before he entered, walked in and gracefully bowed before me. He stood there in the middle of the room and waited. I never looked at Them, not properly. I never stared into their eyes; I pictured them as a blur, a dark figure that haunted the room. I hesitated, could this be a test? 

Unlike the Others who had come before him; pushed me towards the bed and forced themselves painfully inside me. Instead, he extended his arms; hesitantly I leaned towards him, stepping closer until my head settled on his warm chest. He smelt of rich cinnamon, and his warmth was captivating. There we stood, perfectly locked together. He held me like I had never been held before, a simple pleasure. Pure bliss.

 These treasured twenty minutes are all I have with me and the only belonging I have.

Youth Unemployment

Have you ever typed the word ‘refugee’ into Google?
Take a moment out of scrolling down Facebook’s newsfeed and please try it. If you take a look at the results you will find 43,400,000 results discussing refugee events, facts and figures, the thousands of organisations that provide support, advocacy and guidance for refugees in the UK

Yet if you take a moment to ‘British people’ into Google, what you will be pleased to see (excuse my sarcasm) is a number of stereotypical links that expose benefit dependency cultures – words such as ‘boozy, lazy, ignorant’.

Is it not surprising to find that there is more support out there for individuals from Syria, Afghanistan, Eretria and Somalia rather than support our very own British Citizens?

And for youth unemployment in Birmingham - zilch.

 ‘19 per cent, of 16 to 25-year-olds had experienced mental health issues because of unemployment’, between me and you I am surprised that this figure is not significantly greater. 

But what is being done to restore confidence and trust in the youth of today

Within my role I have come across one young people’s initiatives within my local area, and that is within the space of 1 year. To make it that bit harder, to be considered for government initiatives, the eligibility criteria states that you must be claiming Job Seekers Allowance. I put forward this – why is welfare dependency promoted? Government intervention seems to normalize and incentivise relying on welfare, consequently broadcasting social norms through to future generations.

On 27th November 2011 The Work Program was initiated in the hope of offering ‘personalised support for claimants who need more help looking for and staying in work’. 

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith stated that “In the past, many people in our society were written off and trapped in unemployment and welfare dependency. But through our welfare reforms, we are helping people to break that cycle and get back into work”.

JSA claimants are expected from my experience to work for one month, full time, without pay. Whether claimants are trained adequately is questionable, with the fear of facing a sanction if they do not attend, and the possibility of further poverty, conflicts with this idea of the work program being personalised.
 
In October 2009 a new scheme was introduced it was named the Future Jobs Fund, it was aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance.  It incorporated the following:
-  Each job had to be at least 25 hours per week;
 - Jobs had to be paid at least at the minimum wage;
- the work had to benefit local communities.

But in 2010 the Government scrapped the Future Jobs Fund, stating that it would save £320 million by ending certain elements of employment programs, including the further provision of jobs.

Thus, proving that youth unemployment plays no true part in the governments strategies.

Although The General Secretary, Frances O'Grady argued that "Ministers should know better than to try and spin the Work Program as a huge success. Nearly two years on, and only one in ten people has found proper work through the scheme”.  This quote is unquestionably more realistic

Whilst I have been fortunate with finding employment, I can only empathise with 16 – 25 year old’s suffering from unemployment, as it seems to be that the government have placed their priorities elsewhere.

A lot of my readers may be able to relate to; opening up your laptop, searching for jobs, filling in applications forms, and having to repeat the same dreary questions – what is your biggest achievement? What are your strengths? With nothing to do all day but to continue with the same procedure over and over again. 
Before you know it, its 8PM, and to finish for the day you decide to log in to check your inbox in the hope that maybe one out of the 20 job applications may lead to positive news. But instead the optimism that you once had is neglected much like the promises made by your government

Should you wish to discuss this further, or simply post your opinion or experience of unemployment please feel free to comment below. 

If you have any questions, please post and I will try my best to answer.

Hope you enjoyed my most recent blog, and continue to stay up to date via my Facebook page.

Thank you.


 

Life in the UK






I work with a large spectrum of people from each corner of the world, from Eretrian's, to Somalian's, to Syrian's to Yemenese.  Time and time again I come across the same dream, that is shared amongst all individuals. 

This is the dream that life in the UK provides freedom, opportunities, dreams and chances of financial security, education, equality and employment. Though the truth in that statement becomes a glistening star in the night sky - so beautifully close yet so distant.

This is my personal account of life as a immigrant, migrant, an asylum seeker, a refugee and uninvited existence that undergoes prejudice, discrimination, destitution and exclusion. 

In this narrative of events, I would like to inform my readers that names and places will changed to protect individuals. In addition, I am merely expressing incidents I have come across, this does not mean I agree or disagree with any of the testimonies, I am simply composing a on-line diary.

I will just leave you with one thought.
"Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” 
― Franklin D. Roosevelt"
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